


Guard the Angel

by SolNiveAngelo (Mogadorian_Wolf)



Series: Loric Angel AU [2]
Category: The Lorien Legacies - All Media Types, The Lorien Legacies - Pittacus Lore
Genre: F/F, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-31 01:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13963947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mogadorian_Wolf/pseuds/SolNiveAngelo
Summary: Four has nightmares and hesitantly approaches Nine for help, just to stay the night. Nine lets him, and Four finds out that he has nightmares too; he just refuses to let anyone know.





	Guard the Angel

**Author's Note:**

> This took a lot longer than I thought it would. I fear the others may take a long time as well.

_“Harder Four! You think the Mogs will take it easy on you out there?” Brandon barked as my whole body trembled. My legs were threatening to give out. My wings could barely stay fully extended, and my arms were on the verge of dropping the sword. And there were so many monsters coming at me_

_I had to remind myself this wasn’t real, that it was just a simulation._

_Brandon paced around me. “Do you think Nine will always be there to save you? Push them back. You’re stronger than this.”_

_The sword clattered to the ground as my legs and arms finally gave out. I collapsed on the ground with the demonMogs started piling on top of me until I could barely breathe. Brandon stopped in front of me and I stared pleadingly at him, but he either didn’t notice or care; I couldn’t tell which._

_“Please.”_

_The simulation ended, and Brandon stared down on me with a blank face. I tried pushing myself to my feet, falling back down. Hot tears slipped down my face as my shaky arms gave out on me again. Brandon crouched beside me with a dark scowl. “I spent time that went against the elders teaching to personally mentor you, to raise you as mine. And for what?”_

_Guilt pressed down on me, clogging my throat. I was letting him down, a disappointment. Why couldn’t I be like Nine? Tough, strong, and a great fighter. Memories of just how much I felled pressed in on me like an abstract painting._

 

                I startled awake, panting, taking a few moments to realize it was all just a dream. Brandon didn’t feel like that… right? Sure, he wasn’t as affectionate as Sandor, but he sat with me when I was sick, gave me a teddy bear. He cared about me.

                My breathing slowly came back down, and I shoved the blankets off me, crawling out of bed. It helped moving away from it, so I wasn’t sidetracked with the image of the nightmare crawling on me, thick and dark binding me so I couldn’t escape, drowning me as it choked my screams pouring down—

                I wrenched my mind away from that line of thought and slipped out of my room. Across the hall, Seven was doing the same. I was surprised she wasn’t sleeping in her girlfriend’s bed in the warrior section. She gave me a shy smile, joining on my walk outside the sleeping bunks.

                “Another nightmare?” She knew the answer. We’d been best friends since we were kids, and she was eyeing Six from across the room with stars in her eyes and I was trying so hard to impress Brandon.

                We stepped out into the fresh air, and I stretched my wings, letting the cool breeze ruffle my feathers. It took her gentle touch on my shoulder to snap back. I gave her a half look, trying to remember if I’ve ever seen her crying from one or anything. “Do you even get them?”

                She shrugged, spreading her wings as well. “Sometimes. I just crawl into Six’s bed, and it fades, especially if she’s awake enough to hold me.”

                “Yeah? Well, I don’t have an amazing girlfriend to hold me through the night,” I snorted, and took off not checking to see if she was following me.

 

                I walked into the training room feeling like crap. And then, I noticed Eight was gone. My sparring partner, the closest thing I had to a friend. Just like Three, my previous partner who’d left without saying a word and only a sad apologetic look when we passed in the halls. No longer allowed to communicate with anyone outside of the Dead Team.

                It all became too much, and I just turned and walked back out. Let the supervise come after and lock me in the “cool down” room. Let Brandon chew me out. At least he’d be talking to me. I didn’t care, anymore. I found myself sinking down in a little corner that I couldn’t even tell where it was. Hot tears burned down my cheeks, and I buried my face in my knees, wrapping my wings around me like a cocoon. It seemed like everyone was leaving me behind.

                “Hey. Four, right?”

                I looked up to see Nine standing beside me, looking uncomfortable and avoiding my eyes. I hid my face back in my knees, mumbling. “Yeah. Thought you were training.”

                “The girls told me to go after you. You looked pretty freaked back there. I take it you didn’t know Eight was being transferred?”

                “You did?”

                “He told us last night.” I peeked again in time to see Nine lowering to sit beside me. Eight had told him? He’d told him and didn’t even bother telling his sparring partner. A bitter taste filled my mouth.

                “Look, I’m fine. You can go back and tell the others. Everything’s fine.”

                Nine fell quiet, and I wanted to just hit him with my wing. After a moment, I looked over at him to see him staring at the wall. He seemed to sense my gaze because he turned to meet my gaze. “The number’s uneven now. I think we could kick out Five.”

                I stared at him blankly for a moment. “You really hate him, don’t you? You want to train with me to push him out. I’m not as skilled as you are as you pointed out the other day, and besides I thought you liked sparring with him.”

                He glared at me. “I just like making sure the guy doesn’t get too smug with his combat abilities. We’ve got an ancient rivalry that doesn’t need defining. Besides Six and Seven are at different levels and they manage to train together just fine. Or Six will need someone to train with when you take away her girlfriend.”

                It wasn’t even about me. Maybe it would be better if I was transferred over to the dead team. Nine hadn’t paid me a second glance before I tried training with Five.  He’d blatantly ignored all my offers of friendship when we were younger. I remember him breezing past me to play with Six, laughing when she’d stolen my teddy bear that one time. He’d always paid more attention to Five than he’d ever had to me.

                He sighed and shifted next to me like he was about to get to his feet, and for a moment I was back in that moment of shyly offering him my hand as he ran past me like I wasn’t there. My stomach twisted, and I swallowed my rising fear, blurting out, “Do you have nightmares?”

                Nine froze, and I held my breath, fearing he was just going to leave. Then he settled back against the wall, “Yeah. I have a lot of nightmares. Life on the front…” He let out a sigh, leaving it.

                “Do you… would you like me to stay with you for the night? I mean, I heard it could be helpful to be with someone when you have a nightmare.”

                He stared at me for a long moment before quietly snorting. “Got something planned?”

                I scowled, turning my head away from him. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. “Maybe I just hate being alone.”

                Another softer snort. “Yeah. Fine. Go raid my room. Someone’s got to keep an eye out for you until you become the angel you’re meant to be.”

                Surprise sparked through me, and I snapped my gaze to look at him, but he was already leaving. He’d invited me to his room and was just leaving like that. My hands tightened into fists. Left behind again. I didn’t go back to the training room. Three had once taught me how to pick locks. It was time to put that knowledge to the test. After all I knew where Nine’s room, and I had his permission.

 

                Nine opened the door, looking worn out and a lazy wide grin. He froze when he saw me curled up in his bed. I’d drifted off a couple times without too much of a terrible nightmare. Had he just been thinking that he’d throw some blankets on the ground for me? Or had he just been trying to placate me?

                I tightened his blankets around me, locking our gazes. He eased the door closed behind him. “You skipped training to sleep in my bed? I hope it was worth it.”

                “Did you want me to leave?”

                “Nah.” He waved it off, flipping off the light as he moved toward the bed. “You’re already comfortable. No sense in making you move.”

He discarded his jeans by the bed, and I hesitantly laid back down, watching the way he moved in the little moonlight seeping in from the little window above the bed. He climbed into the bed and the way his wings relaxed behind him no longer pressing tight against his back. He tugged the blankets away from me to pull over himself before rolling onto his stomach. I felt my face burn as I rolled over onto my stomach as Nine’s attention settled back on me. I looked away, my stomach squirming. “What kind of angel do you think I’m meant to be? I don’t really have any specialties.”

                “So you want separate sides or cuddle or something?”

                “What kind of angel?” I pressed.

                He snorted. “A late bloomer, okay? It doesn’t really matter. You’re an angel. Now separate sides or not?”

                I felt my shoulders tense as my entire body burned with something I wasn’t familiar with and shrugged. My voice came out thick when I muttered: “I don’t care. Whatever you prefer.”

                His wing brushed against my own condensed wings, and I jumped, glancing over at Nine. He didn’t even seem to notice, at least he wasn’t looking at me, but he retracted his wings and rolled onto his side, gently putting his arm around my waist. He whispered, warm breath against my ear: “You can move or let me know if you don’t like this.”

                I bit my lip and looked over my shoulder studying him. He seemed perfectly at ease. I knew Eight and Three preferred to sleep with their wings out, but I thought it limited the way I could sleep. I hadn’t known anyone else would sleep the same way. The thought comforted me, and I relaxed, settling back down and closing my eyes.

_“Eight!” I cried. He was standing beside Three with their wings touching. They had their backs to me, but I kept expecting them to turn around with a gentle smile, beckoning me to join them._

_They didn’t. They just started walking toward the sinking sun. I ran after them, heart pounding, calling for them. Then Five rose in front of me, blocking the path._

_I threw my arms up, fear rushing back through me throwing me back into the moment of Five beating me, and I could hear Brandon telling me to get back up and prove myself as an angel. When I looked down, I saw my legs were broken, but I couldn’t feel them, and when I looked up Five was holding an angel’s blade over my head. And then Nine rose from the floor wings our wide, his own angel’s blade in hand. Their blades crashed, and I felt like a fairy with broken wings curled up behind my big strong protector._

I jolted awake, feeling disoriented before I realized Nine was thrashing and whimpering behind me. A nightmare. I rolled over to face him, stretching my wings. He didn’t look so much like the powerful warrior angel he always seemed to be, like he’d been in my dream. I winced at remembering my dream. Fairies didn’t even exist. I shook the thoughts off as I folded my wings back against my back.

“Nine,” I whispered, and he gasped, eyes flying wide open. His whole body stiffened, and I rolled back to give him space.

He took a couple deep breaths before sitting up, not looking at me.

“What do you dream about?” I asked after a long moment, playing with the cover edges.

“Mostly the war. You?”

I looked up at him, and our eyes met. My insides squirmed at the way it felt like he was seeing into my soul. I ducked my head from his gaze. “The fight with Five.”

He made a noise in the back of his throat like he’d been punched, but he didn’t push it. After a moment, I reached out and took his hand, half expecting him to pull away. He squeezed it back, and I slowly moved to curl against his side before looking up at him. He gave me a half smile before settling down. I hesitantly smiled back before closing my eyes and drifting back off.

 

When I woke up again, I couldn’t remember what I’d been dream about, just that it had been pleasant and comforting. I was still snuggled against Nine with his arms fully around me. It felt safe. And for a moment, I just soaked it in. It’d been a while since I’d had a peaceful dream, and I wondered if Nine would be opposed to making this something the way Marina always had someone to go to.

But he was a fighter. The warrior angel who thought fighting was everything and reveled in it. This was Nine, who’d always ignored my outstretched hand, Nine who’d never given me a second glance until a couple days ago.

It was the reality that made me slowly untangle myself from his embrace. I was on the edge of bed, when Nine muttered, “You leaving?”

I froze and bit my lip. My hands clutched the edge of the bed. I took a deep breath and relaxed my grip. “It’s not exactly my room.”

“Didn’t seem to bother you yesterday.”

I didn’t break the silence, didn’t deny it.

He sighed, sounding defeated. “You coming back tonight?”

I smirked at him over my shoulder. “Eager to share your bed again?”

He rolled his eyes. “Wasn’t the worse.”

Maybe I would come back tonight. He did ask.


End file.
